Airbnb announcement expected in November - City Hosts and Magical Trips

An Airbnb announcement is expected in November 2016, detailing new ways they will be building on the sharing economy.

by Pass The Keys

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News

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14 Oct 2016

There have been whisperings of an Airbnb announcement expected in November at their host conference, with many hoping for confirmation of “Magical Trips”. The company are already trialling the beta platform City Hosts, a service that aims to provide guests with individual city experiences. We anticipate that “Magical Trips” will build upon this, with both services already deemed to be new facets of the Live There campaign from April 2016.

What is “City Hosts”?

Currently being trialled in a limited number of cities, this service is still in it’s limited beginning stages. The basic premise is that guests will be able to book a home host, receiving the standard Airbnb experience and then, on top of that, book a City Host to provide an experience around a city. This could be a tour of the city, dinner, drinks or even a cooking class. (It’s worth noting that in order to get access to City Hosts, you will need to book an Airbnb stay as well.)

From the beta version it looks like City Hosts can essentially offer any kind of local experience to guests, but it’s clearly an innovative way to get the company back to it’s original ethos of sharing. As I mentioned already, this has not yet been rolled out across all cities but it’s anticipated that more will be revealed with regard to expansion in November.

What are “Magical Trips”?

At this point in time, we don’t know, but there are murmurs that Airbnb could be heading in a “Disney” direction. Speculation is growing as we await the announcement but only time will tell. The upcoming conference in November will finally put rumours to rest and shed some light on what should be an exciting development. Some fans have made the point that “magical trips” may be just another name or slogan in relation to City Hosts, some think it’s something else that will be offered. Speculation is rife, but everyone will have to wait until the official announcements in November for a definite answer. Either way, it’s definitely exciting!

Why City Hosts?

This is a development on the general ethos of Airbnb’s sharing economy – sharing experiences rather than just sharing homes. Hosting, as we know, is a full time job. Some people don’t have the time, others don’t have the rental space, but they do have a passion for their city. This is a way for these people to join the sharing economy by sharing experiences.

We look forward to Airbnb’s upcoming announcement and exciting business developments. It shows a positive reaction to recent criticism and proves that the model still has room for growth, even amid increasing criticism. Would you be a City Host?

As the program already includes London within the beta model, London should be one of the prime locations for City Host. This means more guests within the city which means much more opportunity for profit as an Airbnb home host – do you want to pass the keys to your place? Fill out our form below to get a Free Assessment and we’ll get started!

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